Three notorious convicted murderers will die behind bars after being handed whole-life prison terms for the brutal, “job-done” execution of a high-profile child killer inside a high-security jail.
Mark Fellows, 45, Lee Newell, 57, and David Taylor, 64, were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Friday following their conviction for the murder of fellow inmate Kyle Bevan. The fatal attack occurred inside Bevan’s cell at West Yorkshire’s Category A HMP Wakefield in November last year.
Bevan, 33, was serving a life sentence with a minimum of 28 years for the horrific 2020 murder of his partner’s two-year-old daughter, Lola James, in Pembrokeshire.
The court heard how the three defendants—each harboring a violent hostility toward those convicted of offenses against children—coordinated a highly planned ambush. CCTV footage caught the trio talking shortly before following Bevan into his cell. Once inside, they cornered him and utilized improvised weapons, including a blade fashioned from a television’s metal backing, to stab him 25 times in the neck and torso.
The attack lasted less than five minutes. Afterward, the trio left the cell in what prosecutors described as a “satisfied, job-done mood,” shaking hands and congratulating one another. Before leaving, they meticulously tucked Bevan into his bed to make it appear as though he was asleep. He was left to bleed to death and was only discovered the following morning after another inmate alerted prison staff.
The Killers’ Violent Histories
The sentencing brings to light the astonishingly violent pasts of the three attackers, leading Mrs Justice McGowan to remark to the courtroom, “I’ve never had to sentence someone for a third murder, and in two of these defendants’ cases that’s what just happened.”
- Lee Newell: First jailed for murder in 1989 for strangling a neighbor, Newell was handed his first whole-life order in 2013. In a chillingly identical crime to Bevan’s murder, Newell had strangled a sub-jail inmate who was also a convicted child killer, leaving him dead in his bed.
- Mark Fellows: Known in gangland circles as “The Wakefield Dexter,” Fellows was already serving a whole-life term imposed in 2019 for his role as a contract hitman responsible for two high-profile gangland executions involving firearms.
- David Taylor: Newly transferred to Wakefield, Taylor was sentenced concurrently on Friday for the 2022 murder of vulnerable 24-year-old Alisha Apostoloff-Boyarin—whose body he has continuously refused to locate—as well as the attempted murder of a police officer whom he stabbed near the heart during a prison interview. Taylor was considered so dangerous that prison authorities required a riot-gear escort during his pre-trial hearings amid fears he had secreted a weapon inside his body.
While Fellows and Newell received “new and separate” whole-life orders to ensure they will never taste freedom, Taylor was handed his first whole-life order on top of the life sentence with a 20-year minimum for Ms. Apostoloff-Boyarin’s murder.
Systemic Failures Under Scrutiny
Senior investigating officer Chief Inspector James Entwistle condemned the killing, calling it a “premeditated brutal attack” that demonstrated a complete disregard for human life and institutional safety. He emphasized that serious crimes committed within correctional facilities would continue to be aggressively prosecuted to ensure prisons remain safe environments, even when housing the nation’s most dangerous men.
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However, the trial has renewed fierce scrutiny regarding prisoner management and safety protocols at HMP Wakefield. Evidence brought before the jury revealed that unlike other facilities, vulnerable prisoners—such as those convicted of child destruction—were not separated from the general prison population. The court heard that Bevan was deeply aware of the tension and danger, often keeping to himself and actively requesting to be locked safely inside his cell.
The incident marks another dark chapter for HMP Wakefield, occurring just weeks after disgraced former Lostprophets singer and convicted child sex offender Ian Watkins was also stabbed inside the same prison.
